Shareholder Seeks Preliminary Discovery Against ASX Listed Company After Share Price Plummets

Potential litigants sometimes lack sufficient documentation to make an informed decision whether to commence litigation against another party. Often, the party against whom litigation is contemplated is the same party who holds the documentation, and logically will not provide the documentation voluntarily.  In the recent decision of Bonham v Iluka Resources Limited, the full Federal Court overturned the primary judge's decision declining to grant preliminary discovery (that is, an application for the production of documents prior to commencement of proceedings) and in doing so, considered the elements that must be satisfied to obtain an order for preliminary discovery.

Background: Shareholder application for preliminary discovery following a drop in share price